Former Barcelona star: Yamal would not have played as a starter in 2012 | Goal.com

Published on 08 Oct 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Lamine Yamal would not have forced his way into Barcelona's starting line-up back in 2012, according to former Blaugrana winger Cristian Tello, who points to the quality of the attackers ahead of him at the time.

Tello, who recently retired from football, was asked by Spanish newspaper "Sport" how Yamal would have fared at Barcelona in 2012: "A starter, I don't think so. It would have been hard for him to get there. I think he would have risen to the level he has and what he shows, but it would have been complicated."

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The Spaniard continued: "As I said, we are talking about Alexis Sanchez, Pedro, Villa, Messi and Neymar... these are players, and it is very hard for any player coming up from the academy to carve out a place for himself among them in the first team."

In the view of the La Masia graduate, young players of 16, 17 and 18 find it far easier to reach the first team now. "Yes, it is more exceptional. The first team now includes a very large number of young players, and so breaking in becomes easier for these players."

"In our time, because there were far more established players in the top flight, it was harder for us to break in," Tello added. "That is why I think it carried more value. The players who were in the first team were very experienced."

He had plenty of praise for Barcelona under Hansi Flick: "I like it a lot. And as we said before, because of the players he has up front, he likes to have a lot of pace out wide. Now he is a bulldozer. We hope it continues like this for a long time. They are in very good and positive harmony, and they can do big things this year."

Life after football keeps Tello busy. Three years ago he opened a car showroom named "CT37 Edit Cars" in the Catalan city of Terrassa, according to "Sport".

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